Chris Bianco is very talented, we know. Slinging those iconic golden pies for the unyielding masses (almost) every night, the James Beard Award-wining chef’s notorious work ethic at his fabled Pizzeria Bianco has never seemed anything south of remarkable.
At Bianco’s sharper and more accessible cousin Pane Bianco, the chef manages to parlay his drive for the perfectly tailored pizza–an intuitive ratio of inspiration, meticulous ingredients and masterful execution–into one of the best sandwich shops in the city.
One of my absolutes at Pane Bianco is their peerless mozzarella, tomato and basil sandwich. Buttery, handmade buffalo mozzarella makes face time with minty basil and ripe, glossy tomatoes (both of which are house-grown), all gently pressed between doughy rounds of Bianco’s fine-tuned ciabatta-lite bread, blistered briefly in the kitchen’s sizable wood-burning oven. It’s Bianco’s nuanced skill, stockpiled for our effortless consumption.
Not one player shines brighter than its neighbor–the endgame of all moving parts; an education in simplicity done right.
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This edible affair is not monogamous, however. For my ode to Pane Bianco’s tuna sandwich (and dreamy rice pudding) in the Downtown Phoenix Journal, go HERE.
Pane Bianco | 4404 N. Central Ave | 602-234-2100 | Midtown Phoenix
